Customer Reviews

Evil Angels Among Them

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I've read the other books in the "Book of Psalms" series and this one was very disappointing. The story began in a fairly amusing and intriguing way, as is usual with Kate Charles, but about half way through, the characters and dialogue became very predictable and the ending was not a surprise, to say the least. The dialogue also seemed very dated and similar to the author's other stories. I hope the next one will be better.

In a small and insulated society, sometimes evil grows and festers. And then, if changes are introduced from outside that society, sometimes that evil begins to ferment. Evil Angels Among Them by Kate Charles takes place in the small English village of Walston. Everyone knows everyone else and everyone understands his or her place in the social and power structure of the village. Newcomers Gillian and Lou, a lesbian couple with Gillian's young daughter, and Stephen and Becca, the newly married rector and his wife, engender the change that activates the malignancy. There is gossip and rumor, then obscene telephone calls and finally murder. Stephen's friends, David Middleton-Brown and Lucy Kingsley, come to Walston to try to sort things out. This is a study of evil, a banal and petty evil, but evil nonetheless. The atmosphere of the book is fetid with fear and ambition and hatred. Only the church stands, peaceful, beautiful, above the infection in the village. This intricate and intellectual mystery pulled me into the story, taking me down by-ways and back lanes, until finally the solution was revealed, layer by layer. It also introduced me to some very complex and interesting people, three-dimensional people who change and grow because of what happens to them in this little village.The church and the rector are at the center of the story, but the storm swirls around them, hardly touching them with its frightfulness. This is hopeful because that means the good people who live in this village may rise above the gossip, the prudishness, the licentiousness of the few tainted people. This is a story that is a mystery and yet surmounts the mystery to reflect a universal truth

This book held my interest all the way through and was well-written. One thing puzzles me. Part of the plot hinges on a young bride who receives obscene phone calls. She gets so upset that it is ruining her marriage and her health. She listens to each phone call all the way through each revolting detail. Why? Why doesn't she simply hang up the phone? Or report the problem to the telephone company? Somehow, since the gal is not an idiot, this part does not ring true. I wonder if this bothered any other readers.

Kate Charles has a beautiful way of "setting the stage" and as much as I try to guess the outcome, I am always surprised. She is brilliant in keeping me guessing who is guilty of the murder(s). I also found it fascinating her knowledge of the Church of England and the politics often found within the church.